Biden seeks to calm concerns after choppy debate looms as he and Trump head to swing states

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden strove to calm Democratic anxieties about your shaky showing in your debate with the former president donald trumpas each candidate on Friday sought to expand their appeal in states they lost four years ago.

Thursday night’s showdown seemed destined to reinforce deep-seated public concerns about the two men, perhaps ahead of the biggest crowd they will get before the vote.

Biden’s halting delivery and meandering comments, especially early in the debate, fueled concerns even from members of his own party that, at 81, he will not be up to the task of leading the country for another four years. And Trump’s political attacks and falsehoods served as a reminder of the daily turmoil of his presidency.

Biden was greeted Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina, by a crowd of supporters invited by his campaign to watch Air Force One carry him from the debate in Atlanta, where he dismissed Democratic concerns by showing he should consider stepping aside , saying, “No, it’s hard to debate a liar.”

The Democrat was scheduled to hold what his campaign calls the biggest rally of his re-election bid in the state where Trump was carried by the narrowest of margins in 2020. He will then travel to New York for a weekend of fundraising. great value that his campaign needs now more than ever as it seeks to oust Trump.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who Biden’s campaign sent to defend his performance, was scheduled to travel to Las Vegas, Nevada. She told CNN hours after the debate: “There was a slow start, but a strong finish.”

Biden and his allies are trying to put aside concerns about his speech to keep the focus on voters’ choices this November. They seized on Trump’s equivocations about whether he would accept the will of voters this time, his refusal to condemn the rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, trying to reverse his 2020 loss to Biden, and his acceptance of conservative-leaning the annulment of the Roe v. Wade for the Supreme Court, which legalized abortion across the country.

Trump’s comments, Biden’s team insisted, are out of step with most voters and will serve as fodder for the barrage of ads they will see leading up to Election Day.

Still, they did little to calm concerns about Biden’s fitness among members of his party. Representative Tom Souzzi, a Democrat in a swing New York district, said: “We would all like the president to do better, but no matter what happens, I will fight for my district.”

Asked if he thinks Biden should resign, he said: “That’s beyond my pay grade.”

Rep. Pete Aguilar, the third-ranking lawmaker in House Democratic leadership, was terse when reporters asked whether Biden should withdraw.

“Joe Biden is the Democratic candidate for president,” he said after being followed for several minutes by reporters

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat often mentioned as a 2028 candidate and speculated as a possible replacement for Biden on the ticket should he step aside, released a statement supporting him on Friday.

“The difference between Joe Biden’s vision of ensuring everyone in America has a fair chance and Donald Trump’s dangerous, self-serving plans will only become clearer as we move into November,” she said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom also dismissed questions about whether he would consider replacing Biden, telling reporters after the debate, “I will never turn my back on him.”

Under current Democratic Party rules, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to replace Biden as the party’s nominee without his cooperation or without party officials being willing to rewrite the rules at the August national convention.

Meanwhile, Trump flew to his golf club in Virginia, a former battleground that has swung Democratic in recent years but which his aides believe could swing Republican in November. He was scheduled to hold a rally in Chesapeake on Friday afternoon.

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Miller reported from Washington and Price reported from Norfolk, Virginia. AP reporters Stephen Groves and Farnoush Amiri in Washington and AP National Political Writer Steve Peoples in Atlanta contributed.